May Traditions and Superstitions

May 1, 2017

Welcome to the merry month of May. Named after Maia, the Greek goddess of spring, fertility and growth, May has long been regarded as a time of celebration in the northern hemisphere to mark the end of the gloomy months of winter and welcome in the coming light of summer.

Be like a flower and turn your face to the sun – Khalil Gibran

Many of the customs, traditions and superstitions we associate with this special event in the Pagan calendar originated from the agricultural and spiritual rituals of our ancient Celtic and Anglo-Saxon ancestors. Some of these rituals have even older roots, dating back the time of the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians.

The Gaelic May Day festival of Beltane ‘Fire of Bel’ is one such tradition that is still celebrated in many parts of Scotland and Ireland to this day, by lighting bonfires to welcome in the new season. In Edinburgh, the arrival of summer is celebrated with a yearly fire festival. Thousand gather on Calton Hill to watch a dramatic display of live theatre, acrobatics, drumming, dancing and bonfires that truly encapsulates the wild spirit of our pagan ancestors. During the ceremony, The Green Man is killed as god of winter and reborn in his spring form. The bonfires are put out and relit with a piece of wood from the previous year’s festival.

In my neck of the woods, it was once customary for the townsfolk of Peebles to burn their winter bedding on May 1st to start the new season afresh. Although this tradition eventually died out, the Beltane fair that accompanied it was revived in the latter part of the 19th century to accompany the 900 year old yearly Common Riding tradition of the Riding of the Marches. Held every year in June rather than May, the town is decked out in its burgh colours of red and white flags, during which there’s a week long celebration of rideouts, sporting events, fancy dress processions, bands, and, of course, the all important crowning of the Beltane Queen.

Peebles Rideout

More traditionally, Beltane marked the beginning of the pastoral summer where livestock were put out to summer pasture. Rituals to the gods were held to ensure protection of crops and cattle from disease and encourage fertility of the soil. Household hearths would be quenched and later relit from the kindled bonfires, the flames and smoke of which were deemed to hold protective powers. People and cattle would walk around the bonfires, sometimes leaping over the flames.

In some parts of Scotland, this fire ritual involved marking a slice of oatmeal cake with charcoal. Each blindfolded gatherer would take a slice and whoever chose the marked piece would have to leap over the fire three times, or pretend to throw themselves into it as a symbolic gesture of human sacrifice. When the fire died out, the revellers would then smear their bodies with the ash, sprinkling the remains over the crops and livestock to protect them from evil spirits and disease.

Elsewhere in the UK, other May Day celebrations include Morris and Maypole dancing, the crowning of the May Queen and the rampaging of the Obby-Oss (hobby horse) through the winding streets of Dunster and Minehead in Somerset and Padstow in Cornwall.

The origin of Maypole dancing remains a topic of much debate. Some scholars are of the opinion it has roots in Germanic paganism, who regarded trees as sacred symbols of growth, death and rebirth, and would carry out many elaborate rituals in order to protect them. However, others believe the phallic symbolism of the Maypole can be attributed to an ancient fertility rite, and the dance of ribbons suggestive of the sexual union between the male and female dancers as they weave their ribbons together to create new life. The dance is often accompanied by The Green Man – also known as Jack-in-the-Green, Robin Hood or The Garland King – who dances in a circle around the other ribbon bearers in celebration of the rebirth of summer.

The Green Man

Back in the 16th and 17th Century, yellow flowers such as primroses, marigolds, hawthorn, gorse and hazel blossom were gathered and given as bouquets, or made into garlands for May Day, which were then strung over doors, windows, and even around the necks of milking cows. During the ‘Merry Month’ people too decked themselves in greenery, oak leaves and flowers to bring them luck and protection.

Daisy wreath

It’s thought that the tradition of ‘Bringing home the May’ originated from the Roman Floralia, a flower festival held at the beginning of May in honour of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, Flora. Hawthorn in particular was regarded by the ancient Greeks as a symbol of hope, marriage and birth. Decorating a May bush with flowers, ribbons and painted egg shells was also common practice in many households and villages until eventually being outlawed by the Victorians due to the rise in bush stealing between neighbouring residents. *Bites tongue*

Song on May Morning

Now the bright morning Star, Day’s harbinger,
Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her
The Flowery May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow Cowslip, and the pale Primrose.
Hail bounteous May that dost inspire
Mirth and youth, and warm desire,
Woods and Groves, are of thy dressing,
Hill and Dale, doth boast thy blessing.
Thus we salute thee with our early Song,
And welcome thee, and wish thee long.

John Milton

It was also common for people to visit holy wells on May Day to pray for good health, performing rituals such as walking east to west around the well and leaving offerings of coins, ribbons and clooties ( strips of cloth traditionally used to wrap a clootie dumpling while it cooked) to the fairies and elementals. Hence the saying, ‘Ne’er cast a cloot till May’s oot.’

The first water to be drawn and drunk from the well – ‘the top of the well’ was believed to be as potent as the Beltane dew, protecting whoever drank it from evil. According to folklore, May Day dew possesses magical properties, and if a maiden goes out at sunrise to wash their face in the dew it will preserve their youthful complexion and help rid them of skin ailments such as pimples and freckles. I suppose it’s never too late to give it a try, though knowing my luck I’d probably roll in stinging nettles – or worse!

The fair maid who, the first of May,
Goes to the fields at break of day,
And washes in dew
from the hawthorn-tree,
Will ever after handsome be.

– Mother Goose

Less favourable May superstitions include:

Never wash blankets in May or you’ll wash one of the family away.

Those who bathe in May will soon be laid in clay.

It is dangerous to sleep out in May as you could be taken away by the fairies, like poor old Thomas the Rhymer. Fairies held their greatest power during the month of May. To prevent a child or animal being snatched and a changeling left in their place, a piece of spent coal would be left under the cradle/bed. Primroses would also be scattered over the threshold as fairies can’t pass over these flowers.

The call of a cuckoo on May Day can bring ill luck if it’s heard from the north, and good fortune if comes from the south. If it’s heard from the west it will bring success, and from the east, luck in love.

It’s considered unlucky to marry in May, hence the saying: ‘Marry in May, rue the day.’

I’ll take that last one with a pinch of salt since I did marry in May. The emerald in my engagement ring is the May birthstone (also known as the stone of successful love) which is thought to enhance loyalty, partnership and friendship. Who knows, maybe that will be enough to cancel out said omen. Not that the course of true love has always run smooth. In fact, sometimes it’s been more guns than roses. But, as we’ll be celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary this year, we must be doing something right. Long may our emerald luck last!

And, as if on cue, the blossom on our cherry trees have bloomed in time for our anniversary. 🙂

Please feel free to share your own May traditions and superstitions. I’d love to hear from you!

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2 Comments

finance

First off I would like to say excellent blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your head before writing. I’ve had a difficult time clearing my mind in getting my ideas out. I do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or hints? Thank you!

wendy

Thank so much for taking the time to comment on my blog, and apologies for the delay in replying. That’s an interesting question. I find the best way to clear my mind before writing is to re-read the last few paragraphs I’ve written, as this seems to help jump start my train of thought and regain creative flow. Some days are obviously harder than others to get into the right head space, especially when life is challenging or I’m feeling under pressure, but when this happens and the words aren’t forthcoming I tend to go for a short walk or do something mundane for 20/30 mins. I often find this frees my mind to work through a tricky problem or ignite new ideas, without the pressure of staring in frustration at a blank page.

If you’re writing from scratch, whether for a blog post or a novel, a brief outline is always a good place to start. Beginning with a simple story idea you can expand out from enables you to plan main plots points, develop character arcs and helps to prevent you from deviating too much from the main story or digging yourself into a plot hole later. At this stage, don’t worry if it’s just a few short bullet-pointed sentences, sometimes that’s enough to steer you in the right direction. Some writers prefer to start with a more detailed plan, while others find that too restrictive and enjoy the freedom of writing more organically. I definitely fall into the latter ‘pantser’ camp, but I do always make sure I start with a rough plot outline of what happens in each chapter. Reading and researching widely are also a valuable source of inspiration for developing story themes and ideas.

On a more practical note, I’ve found setting limits on the amount of time I spend on social media, and turning off distracting Facebook and Twitter notifications until I’ve finished writing for the day has been one of the most effective strategies for protecting my writing time and preventing me from losing focus. If only there was a pause button for family interruptions 😉 Hope this helps. Good luck!

Welcome to my blog

Hi! I'm Wendy. I write fantasy books about damaged heroes and vengeful villains, real life places and faraway worlds, ancient myths and dark magic, fate and free will. I'm currently working on my first fantasy trilogy: The Crystal Keeper.

I live with my husband and two sons in the Scottish Borders. Being the omnipotent God of Galidom is a full-time job, but when I'm not creating kingdoms or cleaning up the destruction left by my teenage demigods, you can usually find me exploring ancient ruins, wandering in the woods, curled up with a book or catching up with Netflix.